


Run With Me

by TheWolfeAndTheRose



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: AU- Kara is Alice's mom, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But not as much as in the game, Crime-ish AU, F/M, Gen, He falls in love with Kara in the process, Jeez David Cage you could've eased up on the f-bombs in DBH a little, Mentions of domestic violence/abuse/that kind of thing, Sorta like Law and Order, Swearing, Trying to bust a guy, Where Connor is a regular detective, hope you like it, just fair warning, oh well
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-03 02:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15809748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWolfeAndTheRose/pseuds/TheWolfeAndTheRose
Summary: Connor Anderson was a normal DPD detective whose life changed when he was tasked with going after a drug dealer, Todd Williams. He never thought it would be anything more than another job, but then again, he didn't count on catching the attention of his wife, Kara. When she asks him for help so that she can save her daughter Alice, he's drawn into something so simple yet so complicated, he wonders if he'll ever be completely free of it.





	1. A New Case

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first Detroit: Become Human fanfiction! This is a modern day police procedural/crime AU kinda thing, as mentioned in the tags. Also, for North's last name, I used the last name of her voice actor (in the US version), Minka Kelly. It rolls off of the tongue nicely, so I figured, why not?

Bright lights. One of the two most noticeable things about any big city- constant bright lights and sound. And in the early morning, it was even more hectic as most of the residents of Detroit woke up and started their day. Adults drove their cars to work, children caught the bus or rode their bikes to school. Traffic lights changed at rapid intervals, horns honked at each other in aggravation. Drivers yelled curses at other cars, cyclists, and jaywalkers. Joggers kept to the sidewalks, warily eyeing every passing car. Their eyes lingered a little too long on the crawling police cruiser, as if they were afraid the driver might slam on their brakes and arrest them.

In truth, the driver was focused on nothing but the traffic jam. After checking his digital watch, he debated laying on the horn or turning on his siren.  _6:45. I can't be late again, dammit!_  He cursed inwardly, willing the other drivers to hurry up and move.  _It's that damn accident_ , he thought to himself, irritated.  _People just_ have _to stop and look every time a car crashes._

By some miracle, though, traffic sped up again within a few minutes, and the police cruiser pulled into the parking lot of the DPD with little incident. After grabbing his badge and automatically checking the holster at his hip, Detective Connor Anderson exited the car and slammed the door behind him.

He strode into the bullpen, taking note of photos tacked on cork boards and scribbled words beside them, although he didn't glance long enough to read them. He already knew what was written there, anyway- the notes and crime scene photos were all related to their latest homicide investigation, the killing of Carlos Ortiz. His death was suspected to be drug or gang related. After all, he had been shot execution-style.

Then his eyes fell on another detective, a young woman with red-blonde hair, leaning up against a desk drinking coffee. He walked over to her, a smirk on his face. "Morning, Kelly," Connor said in greeting, and she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Anderson," she replied briskly as she set down her coffee, raising an eyebrow. "Bad traffic? You were almost late."

He nodded. "Accident on the highway. People don't know how to  _not_  look at a car crash."

She chuckled. "You know, you could've always turned on your siren. People would've backed off real quick."

Connor sighed and shook his head. "You know I can't do that, Kelly. Rules and regulations. Besides, that cruiser is only on loan to me and you know it."

She shrugged, took another sip of her coffee. Connor grinned suddenly, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him questioningly. He drawled, "So, North...how are things with your boyfriend?"

North huffed, slammed her coffee cup onto the table. "Markus and I are fine,  _Connor_ ," she snapped. "And don't call me by my first name. Why don't you do the department a favor and permanently shove it?"

Connor opened his mouth, ready to make an equally snarky reply, when a loud voice interrupted them. "Anderson! Kelly! I need you both in my office."

 _What did my partner do_ this _time?_  Connor wondered, sharing a look with North.  _What could Kelly have done that was so bad Captain Fowler wants to speak to both of us?_

Breaking out of his thoughts, Connor followed Captain Fowler back to his office, North at his side.

Once they were in, Captain Fowler closed the door behind them, sat down at his desk, then handed Connor a file. Curious, he tilted his head and peeled it open.

He found himself staring at an arrest report. The mug shot was of an older man. Early to mid thirties, heavyset, greasy brown hair. Connor read the name at the top aloud.

"Todd Williams," he murmured, eyes flitting down to the rest of the report. "Charged with possession of cocaine, suspected of distribution. The latter claim wasn't proven." He looked back up at Captain Fowler. "With all due respect, Captain, my partner and I work with homicides, not drug dealers. I-"

"Listen, both of you," Captain Fowler said sternly. "I have reason to believe this man was connected to the death of Ortiz. Ortiz' toxicology report stated that at the time of death, there was cocaine in his system. Another detective did some digging and discovered that Ortiz had dealings with Williams in the past. Even if Williams didn't kill him, chances are he sold him that coke. We've been trying to get Williams for dealing, but that's been difficult. The two of you might be able to catch him in the act, and possibly solve the murder."

Connor opened his mouth to say something, but Captain Fowler beat him to it. "Before you ask, Anderson, I'll make sure another detective attends to Ortiz' file and still treats it as a separate case. Right now, you and Kelly are needed for this."

Connor nodded. "Whatever you say, Captain."

North shrugged. "We can bust this guy, easy. Just give us time."

Captain Fowler nodded in approval. "That's what I like to hear. Both of you, go talk to the Lieutenant- he'll give you the complete case file."

* * *

"Todd Williams. Born September 21, 1986. Age 32. Works in construction. Charged in the past with possession of coke, suspected of dealing it. Has a wife and a daughter- Kara and Alice Williams, aged 28 and 9, respectively. You're gonna wanna take a look at the wife, I imagine."

North nodded. "That's a good place to start. She might be running his operation or she might have no clue. We should probably-"

"-Check her for priors first. Then maybe stake her out- that could give us a clue as to what she knows. And it could give us a chance to talk to her without her husband getting suspicious and thinking the cops are sniffing around." Connor gave his partner a pointed look. "You're the rookie, remember? I decide what we do."

"Last time I checked, you were my partner, not my superior. So I think I get a say in this, too."

Lieutenant Hank Anderson chuckled at the exchange between the two. "The lady has a point, son." Then he cleared his throat, set the file down on his desk. "I can tell you right now that Mrs. Williams has no priors. We found that out the first time her husband was arrested. If I were you, I'd go ahead and do some digging, see where you can stake her out, maybe tail her. Find out what she knows about her husband's line of work."

North nodded, replying, "Okay, thanks," then walked out of the Lieutenant's office. Connor, however, lingered- although he wasn't sure why.

Hank glanced at Connor and sighed, a half-smile on his face. "She's a real spitfire, that Kelly. Always wanting to go at it guns blazing. You've done good work with her, you know. I think she's made you more determined. Not a bad quality to have, especially in a cop." He paused. "I'm proud of you. Now go on and get out- never a good idea to keep a lady waiting."

Connor chuckled, turned around, and walked out. "Thanks, Dad," he said to himself as he moved to catch up with North- she'd left the hallway and was probably back in the bullpen.

As Connor walked back towards the heart of the station, his mind drifted back to past events- he owed the DPD lieutenant a lot. Hank had taken him in at age fourteen, getting him out of the foster system. Adopted him within a year. Connor had no idea where he'd be if it hadn't been for his adoptive father's kindness.

When he reached the bullpen, he was broken from his thoughts by something hitting him squarely in the back of the head. "What the-?"

Turning around, he saw a crumpled ball of paper on the floor, and a smug-looking North. "Come on, partner. Let's dig up some dirt on Kara and Todd Williams."

* * *

Connor shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat of his unmarked car, watching Kara Williams enter an establishment she frequented- according to her credit cards, she and her husband both paid for drinks at the Eden Club and Bar multiple times a week. She wasn't alone- she was arm in arm with her husband, both of them dressed in evening clothes.

"Bit fancy for a club, don't you think?" North piped up over his shoulder. "I wonder if they got a babysitter or if they just left the kid alone."

Connor paid no mind to her comments, tapped his earpiece. "They just went into the club."

His father's voice answered.  _"You should follow them in, then. Just be careful."_

He and North shared a look, then opened the doors to their car and headed for the entrance. "Lucky I'm in a skirt," North quipped as they walked in.

Inside the club, it was dark, save for flashing lights of various colors. Music blared, people were dancing on one side, and young women dressed in revealing clothes were serving drinks to people seated at tables. After a quick glance around the room, Connor and North spotted Todd Williams and his wife, seated at the bar next to another, equally well-dressed gentleman. The two men seemed to be deep in conversation, while Mrs. Williams was simply smiling nervously, still holding on to her husband. She glanced over her shoulder more than once.

North grabbed Connor's hand, dragging him to a nearby table. Once they sat down, she leaned over. "I know body language, especially in women. She's scared of something. The question is, what?"

Connor nodded in agreement, eyes flitting back over to her.

Even from a distance and in the dim light of the club, he couldn't help but notice that she was a very beautiful woman. Her soft brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and her blood-red evening gown hung over her slight frame in a very flattering way.

North suddenly laughed, and Connor turned to the side and gave her a sharp look. "What's so funny?"

She let out a snort. "Admiring the view, huh, Anderson?"

"Excuse me?" he shot back, and she rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Anderson, your secret's safe with me. I can't blame you, anyway- that girl is  _gorgeous_. Not your fault for noticing."

Connor sighed in frustration and rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

* * *

They kept watch on the two for as long as they could. Todd ordered drinks for himself, his wife, and their friend, talked a lot- albeit too quietly for them to hear, and laughed even more. Kara was silent for almost all of it. When Todd and Kara both stood up to leave, so did their friend. Todd shook hands with the other man, then said clear as day, "Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Kamski."

"Wait a minute," North hissed. "I know who that is- that's Elijah Kamski! He runs a software company called CyberLife. Specializes in experimental tech, prototypes, that kind of thing." Then she frowned. "He doesn't seem like a cocaine kind of guy, though. Who knows, maybe he's a supplier. Or Mr. Williams is selling something else- marijuana, maybe. Lots of people smoke that. Or, who knows, this could actually be a legitimate business deal. Seems odd, though. What would Elijah Kamski want with a construction worker if not illegal drugs? "

Connor shrugged. "I don't know, but we should tell Captain Fowler. We need to find out more about this guy."

North nodded in agreement. "He could be a master criminal, a pothead, anything in between. We might arrest him, turn him, or do nothing. It all depends on what we find."

He smirked. "And with  _your_  instincts, I'm sure we  _will_  find something."


	2. Connections

The keyboard clacked as North input data into the system's computer. She was hunched in front of the screen, fingers flying. Connor stood behind her spot at her desk, watching her. The look on her face was one of intense concentration, but the devious smile on her face was enough to make him raise an eyebrow at her. She chuckled. "Let's see where your cash has been going, Kamski."

Connor tilted his head as she worked. "Are you... _hacking_  into Elijah Kamski's financials?"

North grinned. "Maybe."

Then something on the monitor beeped, and she raised an eyebrow. "Well, now,  _this_  is interesting. Every month, our  _friend_  here makes a payment of 3,000 dollars to a bank account, in the name of one..." North fiddled with the keyboard and mouse a bit more, and a picture of a smiling blonde girl appeared on the screen. "Chloe Hersh. She lives on...850 Whitmore Road, Palmer Park Apartments, unit 236." She spun around in her office chair to face Connor. "What would you do without me, Anderson?"

Connor sighed, though he smiled at her. "It's good information, Kelly, I won't lie. But you  _have_  to stop looking at people's records without a warrant."

"It was just a peek," she argued, and he exhaled heavily in frustration. "Fine, we'll discuss this later. In the meantime, let's go talk to this Chloe Hersh; see if she knows anything."

North grinned, rose from her chair. "You're the boss."

* * *

Connor and North walked down the hall of Chloe Hersh's apartment building, taking note of the pristine walls and floors. "Hersh is unemployed and has been for several months, according to records," North murmured. "What's she doing in a place like this?"

When they reached a white door with the number 236 hanging on it, Connor knocked at the door. "Chloe Hersh? Detroit Police."

After a few silent moments, there was the sound of footsteps and a lock clicking. Slowly, the door eased open to reveal a nervous-looking Chloe. She was in a simple blue dress, her blonde hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. Her blue eyes scanned them up and down. "W-What's this about, officers?"

Connor help up his badge. "I'm Detective Anderson, and this is my partner, Detective Kelly. We'd like to ask you a few questions about Elijah Kamski."

At that, Chloe's face flooded with relief. "Oh, is that all?" She smiled, stood aside. "Would you like to come in?"

Connor and North shared a brief glance, then nodded to Chloe. "Sure," North replied, shrugging.

Chloe kept the warm smile on her face as she led them inside. "Can I get either of you anything? Something to drink, or maybe a little something to eat?"

Connor shook his head, flashed her an easy smile. "That's alright, Ms. Hersh. But thanks for the offer- people often forget that cops need to eat, too." She chuckled, led them into the living room.

The apartment was, much like the rest of the building they'd seen, pristine and modern. Polished hardwood floor, clean white paint, modern appliances. The couch, chairs, and coffee table all looked very expensive. It only took Connor a minute to realize that Chloe was definitely living beyond her means.

Even so, he remained friendly as she lowered herself onto the couch, motioning for him and North to sit in the chairs across from her.

Once they were settled, North started talking. "Ms. Hersh-"

Chloe held up a hand to stop her. "Please, Detectives...call me Chloe."

North gave her a slight smile before continuing. "Alright. Chloe, we found something out about Mr. Kamski. He pays you 3,000 dollars a month. Would you like to explain why?"

Chloe looked at her shoes. "I guess we were going to get found out sooner or later," she said, chuckling nervously. Connor tilted his head and opened his mouth to say something, but she looked back up and beat him to it. "It's not what you think. Elijah and I, we..." she paused, sighing. "We're together. Have been for a while."

"You're lovers?" North asked, and Chloe nodded. "Yeah. We've been talking about getting married, actually," she said, a hint of pink appearing on her cheeks. "After I lost my job, he started paying my expenses. It's just until I get back on my feet. It can be very hard to find jobs these days."

North nodded in understanding. "I have one other question. Did Elijah ever mention anyone by the name of Todd Williams?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes for a moment, then shook her head. "No. I'm afraid not."

"You're sure?" Connor said, then reached into his pocket. He held out a photograph of Todd. "You've never seen this man?"

She shook her head. "No, I haven't." North, in turn, asked her, "Did he mention any new business deals recently? Anything that seemed out of the ordinary?"

Chloe smiled. "We never talk about business, Elijah and I. So, no." She paused, let out a sigh. "Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Connor returned her smile. "That's perfectly alright. Thanks for your time, Chloe." Then he and North both got to their feet. "Mind if we show ourselves out?"

* * *

"I still don't think it was a  _complete_  waste of time," North argued as she collapsed into her office chair. "We found out that Mr. Kamski has a girlfriend. Besides, after last night, I figured you'd be grateful for the chance to look at another pretty girl."

Connor sighed in frustration. "Kelly, we need to get back to work."

She held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay! Jeez." North swiveled to the side and booted up her computer. "Back to square one, I guess."

Connor nodded. "Yeah. Stakeout locations. We should find out if there are any other places one or both of them frequent."

Within an hour, North was snappish again. "According to their GPS, they drive to work and back home, take the kid to school, visit the Eden Club three times a week...and that's  _it_? Good  _night_ , don't they ever think about going anywhere else? On dates, maybe?"

Connor shrugged. "People like routine, Kelly. Criminals especially. They have a system. Besides, they could be visiting other places in a different car- one without a GPS. Places they don't want cops finding out they went to."

North groaned in frustration. "But that's not gonna help us  _catch_  this SOB!" She huffed. "I hate it when they're smart."

He chuckled. "You and me both, Kelly. You and me both. Now, they usually visit the Eden Club on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. Today's Thursday, so we should check out the house."

* * *

"Ow! Watch it, Anderson! You're on my foot!"

"Well, then  _move over_! This car's big enough for two people, get out of my personal space!"

North moved closer to the passenger door, snapping, "Fine!" Connor started to reply, but she shushed him. "Shut up! Look." She pointed to the front door of Todd and Kara's ramshackle house. "Mr. Williams is coming outside."

Even in the darkness of the evening, Connor and North could clearly see Todd Williams stumbling out of his house, mobile phone in his hand. North piped up, "Is he holding a  _flip phone_? God, those things are-"

"Shh! I'm trying to make out what he's saying," Connor hissed, eyes never leaving the man.

He couldn't hear more than a word or two- something about a "drop off". After a minute, he hung up, clicked the phone shut, then did something very odd.

He placed the phone on the ground and stepped on it several times. North raised an eyebrow. "He didn't seem too angry, so why's he destroying the phone?"

Connor gave her a pointed look. "He wants to make sure nobody's snooping."

* * *

His theory was proven right over the next few days- Todd made several calls on flip phones during the day and always destroyed them by the evening.

Even more alarming than that, though, was the loud shouting they heard on more than one occasion, usually at night. They caught words like "liar" and "bitch" almost every time.

That Monday at the Eden Club, North pointed out that Kara seemed very on edge- she said little, kept her eyes on the ground, and jumped at small noises. And she brought up the fact that they never saw Kara leave the house except when her daughter was playing outside- something, or someone, was keeping her locked in. Faces of various strangers came and went, never showing more than once or twice, but Kara was hardly ever seen.

Connor didn't see Kara again until Wednesday, when he was alone at the Eden Club- North had come down with a particularly bad cold.

This time around, Todd was chatting up a tall black-haired woman- Connor thought he heard him call her Emma- and gesturing widely with his hands as he spoke. Whatever he was saying, she seemed to be eating it up, smiling and laughing.

Kara, on the other hand, didn't seem to be enjoying herself very much. She kept her eyes on the floor or stared down into her drink. Two hours ticked by.

Then Todd did something he hadn't before- got up and excused himself. A moment later, Emma followed suit, after laying a hand on Kara's arm and giving her a smile. Then she walked away, leaving Kara alone.

Connor kept his eyes on Kara, despite his better judgment telling him to follow Todd and Emma.

She picked up her martini glass, swirled the liquid in it around, then set it down on the counter. Even from all the way across the (very noisy) room, Connor heard her sigh. Or at least, he saw it in the way she breathed.

Kara suddenly glanced over her shoulder, and for a moment, he found himself looking her in the eye. Her gaze locked onto him like crosshairs, and in it he saw something he couldn't quite name. Sadness wasn't the right word, nor anger. It was almost...a sort of plea, he thought.

He didn't have too long to think about what that meant, though, because a moment later, he realized that she had slid off her barstool and was coming towards him.

Her steps were quick, not unlike those of a frightened animal- at least, that was the closest comparison he could think of. Wanting to run, but not quite sure if she had to yet.

Connor had seen that look on many people before, but on her, it suddenly seemed different.

She reached him within ten seconds, then leaned forward to speak. "I've seen you before," she whispered, her eyes wide with alarm. "Are you...following me?" Connor opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. "You're always here with that girl, the one with the red hair." Then her voice grew even quieter. "Are you with the police?"

Connor found himself at a loss for words- he never expected to be noticed. It had never happened before. He folded his hands in front of him, fingers tapping the table in front of him. "Miss, I-"

She grabbed his hand in an instant, her eyes fixed on him with such intensity that he had to catch his breath.

He'd known from a photograph of her that her eyes were a grayish blue, but he wasn't prepared to see them up close. They were darkened, wide with panic. Something rose in his chest, an instinct. A need to protect, to ease the fear that clouded her gaze and marred her delicate features.

Then she whispered, " _Please_ ," and he was jarred back into the reality of the situation. "I need to know. I need to save my little girl."

"Your daughter?" he whispered back, and she nodded, biting her lip. "Yes. My daughter Alice. She's just nine years old," Kara whimpered. "I don't want her living the rest of her life like this."

A mother desperate to protect her child was the oldest story in the book. The suspicious part of his mind whispered that it could be a trick, but the logical, detective side of him knew it was very hard to fake visceral reactions like hers. There was no denying the fear in her eyes.

So, he nodded. "My name's Connor. Connor Anderson. I'm a detective in the DPD."

Kara's eyes widened. "That girl...is she your partner?" When he nodded, she continued. "I'm guessing you're after my husband."

After a moment of hesitation, he replied, "Yes, Mrs. Williams. We are."

"I suspected as much," she murmured, glancing down at her hand. Then she looked back up, released him from her desperate grip. "I'll do whatever you want. Just promise me my Alice won't have to grow up in a home filled with strangers going in and out and drugs everywhere."

"Okay," he whispered. "I promise."

Of course, such a promise might be hard to keep, but the relief that flooded her face made it worth the risk.

Suddenly, protocol came back to him. "Do you want to come with me?" he murmured. "I can get you out of here, placed in protective custody. You and your daughter."

Kara shook her head vehemently, causing him to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. "Todd has...connections," she replied, biting her lip even harder. "Not cops, but if I disappeared...I know something bad would happen to Alice." Connor opened his mouth to say something, but she laid her hand on top of his again, and somehow that was enough to effectively stop the words in his throat. "You can't change my mind on this, Detective. But I can still help you."

He tilted his head to show he was interested, then sighed. "All right. How?"

"Information," she replied. "It'd be slow going since I'm not really involved in his business. He doesn't allow me to be involved- not that I wanted to be. I'm just there to look pretty for potential clients. It's hard to explain. To get evidence, I'd have to snoop around when he's busy. Take pictures. Would that...be enough?"

"To get him arrested? Absolutely. A conviction might be tougher, but it'd be enough for an arrest warrant."

Relief flooded her face. "Thank you. That helps."

Connor held her gaze- his was steady, hers searching. "Be careful, Mrs. Williams."

She nodded. "Don't worry, I will."

An idea suddenly came to him. He reached into his pocket, removing his phone. He pressed a few buttons, then held it out to her. "You can put your number in here, if you want. That way if something comes up, we'll know."

Kara hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay." She took the phone from him, input her number, then gave it back. He dragged a finger across the screen, typed something. A moment later, buzzing sounded inside Kara's handbag. "There, now you have my number."

Kara gave him the smallest of smiles. "Thank you, Detective. And...please, don't call me Mrs. Williams. That's not me. My name's Kara."

After a moment's pause, Connor nodded. "Alright. You're welcome, Kara," he whispered.

She drew herself up to her full height, gave him a grateful parting glance, then strode back over to the bar. She sat down just as Todd and Emma came back into view, and carried on as if she'd never left her spot.

Connor did his best to focus on the rest of their exchange, but found it was hard to tear his eyes away from Kara- his mind kept going back to everything she'd said to him.  _Kara Williams_ , he thought to himself,  _you are very, very brave_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much like with North, I used the last name of Chloe's voice actress, Gabrielle Hersh, as her surname. Also, I would like to state that I do not work in law enforcement, so if anything is inaccurate, I apologize. I researched drug crime, crime investigation, and related subjects as best I could, but there's probably going to be errors.


	3. Conversations and Instructions

Rain drummed on the roof of the DPD as Connor pulled his car- unmarked, not a cruiser- into the parking lot. He let out an annoyed groan as he stopped the car. "Damn it, I forgot my umbrella. Oh, well." He put the car in park, killed the engine, got out and shut the door, then made a run for the front door.

Once he was inside, he checked his watch out of habit. "6:30. Perfect. I should speak to Captain Fowler and North, if she's gotten better," he muttered to himself under his breath. "Tell them about our new witness."

When he made it to the bullpen, he found North in her usual spot- at her desk, drinking coffee and tapping the keyboard on her computer. "Kelly," he called out, but she paid no mind to him. He repeated himself, louder. "Hey, Kelly!"

North jumped up at his voice, startled. She turned her head to look at him, very slowly. "Don't  _do_  that, Anderson," she snarled. "I'm kind of busy here."

Connor shrugged, came up behind her. "Glad you're feeling better."

She chuckled, turned her attention back to the computer screen. "It was just a cold. Mostly ran its course by yesterday."

"Speaking of yesterday, there's been a new development," he replied. "Something happened at the Eden Club that I think you should know about."

North swiveled her chair around to face him, raised an eyebrow. "Well, color me intrigued, Anderson. Go ahead and spill."

He breathed in and out heavily, the realization that it would be difficult to explain his actions hitting him like a blow. "I was...approached. By Mrs. Williams."At that, Kara's parting words echoed in his mind, and suddenly the surname tasted bitter and mechanical in his mouth.

" _Please….don't call me Mrs. Williams. That's not me. My name's Kara."_

Then North spoke, her eyes wide with shock, bring Connor back into reality. "She  _came up_  to you?" He nodded in reply. "Yes. It seems she...figured us out. Probably noticed us watching her and her husband the moment we walked into the club for the first time." He paused, sighing. "She asked me to help her."

North tilted her head in confusion. "With  _what_?"

"Her daughter," he replied, without hesitation. "She all but admitted to me her husband is a dealer. She wants to get him arrested so her daughter doesn't have to grow up in that environment. I offered to get them both into protective custody, but….she turned me down. I'm still not quite sure why. But she told me she could discreetly feed us information on her husband's business."

"Like a CI," North piped up. Connor nodded in agreement, then North asked, "How exactly is she supposed to send you evidence?"

Oh. That was the hard-to-explain part. "I...gave her my cell number. Since she's so close to the suspect, I thought that it would be best to be discreet. That seems to be the most discreet method of communication at this time."

North regarded him with a flat expression, quirked an eyebrow. "You gave her your number." She chuckled lightly. "Damn, Anderson. If she wasn't married to a guy we're trying to bust, I'd be reading into that."

Connor huffed, rolling his eyes. "You've gotta stop saying things like that. Now, do you want to be with me when I tell Captain Fowler about this or should I go alone?"

North raised her hands in surrender, smirking. "Well, I can't let you take  _all_  the credit, can I? Come on, let's go."

* * *

Captain Fowler gave Connor a firm look, though there was the faintest hint of a smile on his face. "She'd certainly be a helpful witness. That's brave of her."

Hank suddenly spoke up from his place next to the captain's desk. "Or deceitful. Could be a trick." Connor opened his mouth to protest, but Hank held up a hand to silence him. "I'm not saying it is. I'm just telling you to be careful."

He nodded, about to reply, but was distracted by his phone buzzing. "Hold on," he said absently, reaching for his cell. When he activated it and saw the message, his face fell. "It's her," he said quietly.

Connor studied the message, reading it over and over again, wondering what it meant.

_I messed up._

* * *

Kara Williams crept quietly into her daughter's room, pushing the door open very slowly. "Alice?" she called out softly. "It's time to get up for school, sweetie."

Alice rolled over in bed and groaned. When Kara repeated her name, Alice sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I'll get dressed in a minute," she said, yawning.

Kara nodded. "Hurry up so you can get breakfast before the bus comes." Then she closed the door to Alice's room, turned around, and walked back into the kitchen.

Todd was already seated at the table, scowling down at the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon she'd given him. She sat down across from him, folded her hands in her lap. "Can I get you anything else?" she asked softly.

Todd looked up at her, his eyes full of barely-contained rage. That was answer enough- she knew what that look meant. It was his way of saying  _Don't bother me or I'll take my anger out on you_ , without actually using words. So she ducked her head, said nothing more as he ate.

Kara stayed seated until Alice tiptoed in a minute later, then got up to pour her some cereal. She talked with her daughter for a few minutes- made sure she had all her supplies, asked her about homework- but stayed far away from Todd. Her eyes never met his the entire time he ate breakfast, and she stayed fairly quiet as he got ready and left for work. Alice ran out to catch the bus just after Todd left, but only after Kara gave her a kiss on the cheek and bid her goodbye. Then she was gone, and Kara was alone.

That wasn't particularly significant in and of itself- she was often at the house by herself when Todd was working at a construction site and Alice was at school. But she had agreed to help that detective she'd met at the Eden Club the night before, and the only time she could do that would be when no one else was in the house.

Suddenly, the thought of snooping around made her chest tighten in fear. What if Todd got suspicious? What if he came home early one day and caught her in the act? And where would she even start?

Maybe going up to that detective had been a mistake after all.

Kara knew one thing for sure, though- she had to let him know what was going on in case he got impatient. So, forcing herself to breathe slowly, she sat down on the battered living room sofa and pulled out her phone. She typed a brief text that she hoped would get the message across.

_I messed up._

Then she leaned back onto the couch and closed her eyes. She drew in and let out several deep breaths, willing herself to calm down.

She'd had bouts of sudden panic in the past, and as such, knew how to handle it. Breathing slowly, reminding herself she wasn't in any immediate danger.

The her phone buzzed, giving her something else to focus on. She turned it on and found that the detective- she was fairly sure he'd said his last name was Anderson- had replied to her message.

_What do you mean?_

Kara sighed, biting her lip as she mulled that over. Even she wasn't quite sure what she meant- at least, she didn't know how to put it into words. After a minute or so of thinking, she sent him the only message she could think of.

_I don't know what to do._

A moment later, a new message flashed on her screen.

_You mean evidence wise, right?_

They talked like that for a little while, messaging back and forth, until she felt a lot better about sending in evidence- he gave her a starting point.

_Yes. I'm not sure where to begin. I'm nervous._

_That's normal.  
_ _Does your husband keep any drugs inside the house?_

_I believe so, but I don't know where. I never see them except when someone is over here buying._

_Maybe he stores them in a place I don't know about._

_Probably. What about large amounts of cash?_

_He does have that in the house- he keeps it in a duffel bag under our bed._

_Could you send me a picture of it?_

_Yes- hold on one second._

Kara clicked off her phone, put it in her pocket, then walked into her and Todd's room. She crouched down at the foot of the bed, pulling back the cover. She grabbed the strap of the bulging fabric bag and, grunting with effort, heaved it out into the open.

After she unzipped the bag, she made sure the rolls of bills were visible and snapped a picture with her cell phone. She attached the photo to a message, sent it, then closed the bag and shoved it back underneath the bed.

By the time she made it back to the sofa, Detective Anderson's reply had come in.

_This is very helpful. Thank you, Kara._

She sighed heavily in relief.

_You're welcome.  
_ _What else would you need?_

_To secure a conviction? Physical evidence of dealing. Witness testimony needs evidence to hold up in court._

_I don't know if I can document that. He watches me too closely._

_Maybe you don't have to. If you can find and get a picture of the drugs, that would be enough. We'd have evidence that he possessed illegal drugs, and your testimony to back up a charge of dealing._

There was a brief pause, then he sent her another message.

_If you agree to testify, anyway. You don't have to. You can say no- I'm sure we could get someone else. A customer, maybe. I'd understand completely if you didn't want to._

She sighed, shook her head in exasperation. Kara knew that some people were hesitant to testify against someone close to them, especially since they would have to face the accused in a courtroom and look them in the eye. But she could do it. She was strong enough.

_I want to, Detective. I have to if I'm going to save Alice._

_I understand. But if you change your mind, that's okay too._

Then another message.

_You don't have to call me Detective. I'm already calling you Kara, so you can call me Connor, if you want._

_Connor._  That had been how he'd introduced himself to her- Connor, Connor Anderson, not Detective Anderson. And now he was giving her the freedom to use that name.  _His first name_. She had given him that liberty, too, but it was more for selfish reasons. He did it precisely because of her granting him that freedom. "Detective Anderson" was a formality. It was mechanical. "Connor" was not. It was friendly. Personal.

That was enough to make her smile. Smile, and then reply with a simple, one-word message.

 _Okay_.

Little did she know, elsewhere, inside the Detroit Police Department, the detective she was conversing with- he had returned to the privacy of his desk- had a smile on his face, too.


	4. A Chance Meeting

Connor smiled at Kara's reply for a moment, until he realized what he was doing and returned to a neutral expression. Suddenly a new message popped onto his phone screen.

_Is there anything else I can do?_

He thought for a moment. If she couldn't get hold of proof of the drugs themselves, the DPD would have to find them. And the best way to find them? Look to the buyers.

_See if you can identify anyone who comes into your house to buy. We might be able to get them to confess, find out if they know where he keeps his supply._

He was typing a report on his computer several minutes later when Kara finally responded.

_I can try.  
_ _I should go. I need to delete these messages in case Todd looks at my phone._

He replied with a simple, " _Alright_ ", then went back to typing up the report. Almost immediately after he was finished, North showed up. "Come on, Anderson. Captain Fowler thinks our leads will probably stay quiet for a while. We need to work on our other cases."

* * *

 Their leads, or, more accurately, lead, did indeed stay quiet for a while. It was a full day before Connor received another message from Kara.

They were at a crime scene, observing the fallen body of one Rupert Travis. Cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head. The body was in a chair that had toppled over backward, the gun on the floor next to the dead man. On the table in front of him was a piece of yellow notebook paper. Three words had been hastily scribbled onto it.

_I am alive._

Connor leaned over the note and frowned. "I wonder what that means."

North walked up beside him, shrugged. "Maybe some sort of message. Expression of a belief or something. Like the body dying but the soul surviving. Something like that."

He nodded. "Either way, we know what this is. The note is in the victim's handwriting, there's residue on his dominant hand, no evidence of forced entry or foul play...this is a suicide, plain and simple."

Suddenly his phone chirped, and North raised an eyebrow. "Who would text  _you_  during work hours?" Connor scoffed and rolled his eyes, replying, "Relax, it's probably Kara."

Her gawking expression only intensified. "So it's  _Kara_  now, is it?"

He glared. "She asked me to call her Kara. Now stop distracting me so I can see why she's texting me."

North raised her hands in surrender as he reached for and turned on his phone. When he read her message, his eyes widened. "Kelly, I think we can make an arrest."

North smirked. "Oh,  _please_  tell me we can put away that addict slimeball."

Connor tilted his head. "Not just yet, Kelly. But we have a lead."

Kara had sent him a photograph of a young woman holding what was unmistakably a gram of coke.

She was tall and very thin, with thick waves of long black hair that cascaded down her shoulders.  
_Her name is Emma Phillips._

* * *

 North pounded on the apartment door. "Emma Phillips? Detroit Police, open up!" When there was no response, she knocked again.

Still silent. She shared a look with Connor, who nodded.

A few moments later, the front door to her apartment came flying open- Connor kicked in the door.

North was the one who found her, terrified, in the far corner of her bedroom. "Emma Phillips, you're under arrest for possession of an illegal substance. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney..."

* * *

 Connor strode into the interrogation room, sat down across from Emma, folded his hands in front of him. "Have you anything to say in your defense, Ms. Phillips?"

"There must be some mistake," she pleaded, her eyes wide. "I never obtained any illegal drugs!"

He studied her, felt himself sliding into the persona he always adopted during an interrogation. The robot, the machine, scanning for tells, weaknesses, and signs of breakdown. Cold and calculating, no matter how warm he acted towards the subject. It was an act, a mask.

_Voice much higher than normal- panic. Wide eyes and extreme gestures- also an indicator of fear, and an attempt to make a lie seem like truth. Pressure would be the logical approach._

"Ms. Phillips," he said, his voice perfectly even and dangerously low. "We have documented proof of you in possession of a gram of cocaine. Even more, we know  _exactly_  who you bought it from. Todd Williams."

She flinched, her expression fell.

_Heavy exhalation and eyes looking downward- signs of submission. She's admitting defeat._

"You don't understand," she said softly. "It was for a reason. I bought it to save my life."

A confession. They had it. Now he could focus on her words more. He still would be vigilant, however, studying her behavior to ensure she was being truthful.

"Elaborate, please," he replied, still glaring coldly at her.

She drew in a shuddering breath before speaking again. "A man...he held a knife to my throat. Said he knew I had money, and wanted me to buy the coke for him or...he'd kill me. He knew where I  _lived_!"

"This man...did he say what his name was?"

She nodded rapidly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Carlos. He didn't tell me his last name."

Connor raised an eyebrow, rose to his feet, then walked out. When he returned a minute or so later, he held a photograph in his hand. When he seated himself again, he slid the photo across the table. "Is this him?" Emma nodded.

The photograph he'd showed her was of Carlos Ortiz.

"Ms. Phillips," he repeated, his voice softer, "You don't have to worry anymore. That man is dead."

"D-Dead?" she stammered, sniffling. "Oh, thank God." Then her eyes widened and she said quickly, "I didn't mean it like that. I just-"

Connor held up his hand dismissively. "-It's alright, Ms. Phillips, I understand." Then he paused, cleared his throat. "Threatened or not, you still broke the law. But," he held up a hand to silence her when she started to protest. "We'll drop all charges if you do something for us."

" _Anything_ ," she replied vehemently. "Just tell me what it is, and I'll do it. Anything to put this behind me."

He sighed. "What can you tell us about Todd Williams? Specifically anything about where he keeps his supply of drugs."

Emma shook her head. "I don't know. I only met him twice because of what Carlos told me. Apparently Todd stopped selling to him. But he did say something." She paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Something about a warehouse, I think." She paused, let out a sigh. "I didn't pay much attention to him, I'll be honest. I noticed details about his wife more. I think her name was Kara."

She sighed bitterly. "I feel bad for her. He kind of ordered her around, she was really quiet...she almost acted scared of him. He was unpleasant enough to me; I can't imagine being  _married_  to the guy. It was pretty clear he doesn't like women very much."

* * *

 Connor sat down in his office chair, took a deep breath. He took out his phone, pulled up his contact list. His index finger lingered over the name  _Kara_  for a few moments before he pressed the  _Call_  button and held the phone up to his ear.

She answered after three rings.  _"Hello?"_

"Hello, Kara. It's-"

She cut him off.  _"Who is this?"_

Connor tilted his head in confusion. "Kara, it's me. Connor. We met at the-"

" _I'm sorry, sir, but I think you have the wrong number."_

Her voice was thin and false- he could hear it in the way she spoke. Almost fearful. "Kara, is there...someone in the room with you?"

" _Yes."_  Ah. That explained it. "Is it your husband?"

" _Yes, that's correct."_

"Can you call me back later today?"

" _No."_

"Okay. I'm gonna hang up now."

" _All right. Sorry about the mix-up. Bye."_

As he was talking to her, he saw North walking over out of the corner of his eye. Once he hung up, she raised an eyebrow at him. "What was  _that_  all about?"

Connor sighed. "I called Kara. Something...I don't know what, but  _something_  told me to check on her. She sounded odd on the phone, so I asked if her husband was in the room. She said yes."

He paused, looked up at North. "I keep thinking about what Emma Phillips said. About how Kara seemed scared of Todd.  _You_  even said she acted afraid." Connor looked back at the computer screen, sighed. "We should take a look at her hospital records. See if there's anything that would indicate she was being abused."

North shrugged. "I'm always up to hack into records, but...just this once, I'm gonna ask why you thought of this."

"Intuition, Kelly. And if she  _is_  being abused, then...well, we'll have to tread carefully when we use her as an informant."

* * *

 North hunched in front of her computer, muttering to herself, fingers flying over the keyboard as she worked. "Bingo," she said softly, grinning. Then she turned to face Connor, who was standing directly behind her. "Alright, I'm in. Just gimme a sec..."

She turned back to her computer, typed in more code. Then her face fell. "Well, your intuition must be working overtime, Anderson. You were dead right. Over two dozen ER visits and half that amount of regular doctor's appointments in the last three months. Black eyes, bad contusions and cuts, broken wrists and ankles...even a rib fracture. Ouch. It practically screams domestic abuse."

Connor sighed, shrugged his shoulders. "It might also explain why she was so quick to ask me for help. Maybe...something happened, and she realized she was tired of being hit. But, of course, she wasn't going to admit that right away. She said her daughter needed help, though, and that wasn't a lie. Just not...the whole truth."

North nodded slowly. "Either way...I really feel for her."

"Me too," he murmured. Then he had an idea. "Check Alice's medical records, too, if you can. I want to know if he's hurting both of them."

North nodded. "Man, now I'd  _really_  love to kick this slimeball's ass."

 _Me, too, Kelly, me too_ , he thought to himself, but for some reason didn't say aloud. He had a feeling North would give him a hard time, which he didn't need. She teased him about every girl that so much as breathed in his direction. She claimed it was because she was trying to make sure he didn't die alone. He always told her to buzz off, as he was already married to their job. She would usually laugh and reply, "Get a divorce, then."

* * *

 Connor waited for almost an hour before North called him to attention again. "Hey, Anderson! I got something!"

Standing up, he all but ran over to the other side of his desk to where North sat across from him. She raised an eyebrow. "Jeez, who died and made you Speedy Gonzales?" she said, half to herself. Then she cleared her throat and focused on their more urgent topic.

"I couldn't find anything in Alice's medical record that indicated her father was severely hurting her, but I did find a series of complaints to the school nurse. Headaches, stomachaches...all the signs of a stressed out kid in an abusive home. The only thing in her records that's slightly suspicious is an ER visit a year back for a broken arm. But kids break bones all the time; they do stupid stuff like fall out of trees or ride their bikes into walls. The official report said she fell down the stairs. Who knows, maybe she was doing what I did when I broke my arm. Tried to slide down the steps in a laundry basket," she said with a chuckle.

Connor raised an eyebrow- he could definitely imagine his partner as a child doing something idiotic like that. He tried to smile, but with the current weight of the situation bearing down on him, it was only halfhearted.

"I do feel somewhat...guilty about this," he admitted. "Since I'm going to be working closely with her to get information on her husband. I didn't ask her about this first. It feels like-"

"-Like an invasion of privacy?" North finished for him. Connor nodded, and she shrugged. "I do it all the time. Remember, she's a source of information, that's it. And besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt her. It's for her own good."

 _Just a source of information._  For some reason, Connor wanted to protest that remark. She wasn't  _just_  anything. Kara was a human being, as alive as anyone else, and deserved to be treated as such.

But where had the sudden indignation come from? This wasn't like him.

Forcing himself out of his thoughts, he thanked North, then went back to work.

* * *

_Honk!_  An obnoxious car horn sounded from behind Connor's well-worn Ford- his first and only unmarked vehicle, and the only car he owned. He rolled his eyes in irritation, then lowered the window. Leaning out of the side, he yelled, "The light's red, you moron!"

As he collapsed back into his seat, Connor couldn't help but laugh. He may not have shared his father's persistent disregard for the rules of the road, but they did have in common a tendency to yell at idiotic drivers.

As he weaved his way through the streets of Detroit, a road closure resulted in him taking a slight detour. The new route took him past the Eden Club and Bar.

As he drove past the building with its annoyingly intricate pinkish-purple neon sign and loud bass notes playing from inside, he found himself slowing down. It was a Friday, meaning Kara was in that building. He was supposed to go home; no stakeout had been scheduled.

But he still thought about her. Kara was inside that club now, with her husband. A husband who had abused her in the past and probably still did.

 _What the hell's wrong with you, Anderson?_  He thought angrily.  _Domestic abuse happens. Get your shit together and stop being mad about it. We'll put away this bastard, one way or another._

And then Kara's face resurfaced in his mind- gray-blue eyes wide with panic, yet hardened with a sort of purpose. He saw kindness in them, too, when she pleaded for her little girl.

She had beautiful eyes.

Connor shook his head and let out a frustrated groan.  _Snap out of it!_  
Even so, he knew that mental image would keep haunting him unless he did something. So, with a resigned sigh and a muttered, "Can't believe I'm doing this..." he pulled into the parking lot of the club and got out of his car. As he went up the steps and through the front door, he straightened his tie out of habit.

An annoying techno song was playing inside, and several people were dancing to it on the slick floor- including several couples that looked less like they were dancing and more like they were making out. Connor shook his head at them in disgust, walked toward the bar, and seated himself on a stool.

The bartender was a giant of a man, who probably surpassed Connor in height by at least half a foot. He was built like a tank. Immediately, Connor knew he'd never want to piss the bartender off.

Suddenly, a voice spoke up from behind him. "Don't worry, Connor. Luther's not nearly as scary as he looks, I promise."

He jumped, startled, to find a smiling Kara standing behind him. "Hello," she murmured.

Connor blinked several times, to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Kara," he finally said after a long pause.

She  _laughed_. Laughed and shook her head at him. "What's that face for?"

Forcing himself to change his expression to what he hoped was a neutral one, he replied, "You surprised me. That's all."

Kara sighed, moved to sit on the barstool next to him. "What're you doing here at the bar all by yourself?"

He gave her a hint of a smile. "I could ask you the same thing."

She chuckled and shrugged. "Todd's on a, ah, business trip," she said. Then she leaned over and added in a low voice, "He's gone to Mexico for a week. I think he's trying to make connections with some of the smaller cartels down there." Then she straightened up and kept speaking normally. "I got a babysitter for a few hours so I could come here to think." Kara gave him an inquiring look. "What about you?"

Connor shrugged, a halfhearted smirk on his face. "I came for a drink."

Kara laughed again. "Well, this is a bar, so that's understandable." Then she smiled. "Buy me one?"

He smiled back, shrugged nonchalantly. "Why not? I'm off-duty." He cleared his throat. "What do you want?"

She shrugged. "I dunno...a martini."

Connor chuckled. "You may want to elaborate on that. Gin or vodka? Shaken or stirred? Dry or wet? Help me out here."

Kara's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. "Gin, I guess. The rest I don't care about; surprise me."

He shrugged. "Fine with me. Bartender!"

He ordered their drinks, and the bartender raised an eyebrow. "Is this man bothering you, Kara?"

His voice was very deep, and somehow quiet yet loud at the same time.

Kara shook her head at him and smiled. "No, Luther. He's a new...friend of mine."

Luther regarded him with narrowed eyes, then smiled at Kara. "Very well, then." He turned and began making their drinks, while Connor turned to Kara with wide eyes.

"You're right, he's not scary. He's  _terrifying_!" Connor hissed. When Kara rolled her eyes at him, he argued, "He looks like he could snap my neck without even making an effort."

She let out a huff. "Relax. Luther's my friend. He's huge and he has a deep voice, but he's also a big softie. Right, Luther?" she said, asking that question a little louder.

Luther chuckled as he walked back over to them, two martini glasses in his hands. "I can assure you that I am harmless, Mr..."

"Anderson," he supplied, trying to sound less terrified and more friendly. "Connor Anderson."

"As I was saying, I'm quite harmless, Mr. Anderson. Here."

Luther set their drinks down on the countertop, and Connor thanked him. Luther nodded, then turned to smile at Kara. "Lovely to see you tonight, Kara. How is the little one?"

"Alice is just fine; thanks for asking," Kara replied, smiling back at him. "She loved that book you got her."

Luther chuckled. "I'm glad to hear it. She's certainly an avid reader." Then a different customer called out, and he nodded toward them with his head. "I'd better go. Work to do," he said, smiling, and Kara replied, "Alright."

Once Luther had stepped away, Connor picked up his martini and took a sip. Then he grimaced. "Wow. That's...strong."

Kara let out a snort. "That's what you get for ordering a vesper martini. You're not James Bond; quit acting like it."

Connor raised an eyebrow at her. "How did you know about…?"

She shrugged and sipped her drink, smiled coyly. "I may or may not be a huge James Bond fan. I've seen pretty much all the movies."

He chuckled. "Huh. Me too. Which one's your favorite?"

Kara regarded him incredulously. "You seriously expect me to answer that? There's too many of them! Although, I really liked  _Skyfall_. And, of course, the classic  _Dr. No_. You?"

"Those were pretty good. Have you seen  _Spectre_?"

They talked for quite a while about everything and nothing. Connor couldn't help but notice how nice she looked when she was smiling or laughing. Unbeknownst to him, Kara was thinking along those lines about Connor, too.

* * *

 Two hours passed before Connor realized it was getting close to midnight. He glanced at his watch and swore. "Shit! It's getting really late. I've kept you here too long."

Kara's eyes widened. "No, Connor, this isn't on you. I lost track of time." She grabbed her purse and all but shot to her feet. She leaned over the bar, called out a hasty "Goodnight, Luther," then turned to Connor. "Um..."

Connor knew immediately she didn't know what to say, so he got to his feet. "Want to me to walk you out?"

She blinked at him gratefully. "Sure. Thanks."

So he offered her his arm and led her out to the parking lot where her car was. As they walked, they still chatted, but it was more subdued now. When they came to a stop in front of Kara's vehicle, she murmured, "Thanks, by the way. For the drink."

He smiled. "You're welcome. Thanks for putting up with me all night."

Kara chuckled. "You're not  _that_  hard to put up with, Connor. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're a huge nerd, but who cares? It was...nice talking to you."

Connor nodded, still smiling. "You too. Well...goodnight, Kara."

After she replied, "Goodnight," he turned and walked away towards his own car.

And as he drove home, he thought about everything that had happened. He'd bought a suspect's wife a drink and talked to and laughed with her like she was an old friend. It was unprofessional, he realized. Even if he was off-duty.

And yet…

He had enjoyed every minute of it. Instead of that haunting mental image of her pleading with him, his mind kept coming back to the image of her smiling when she first caught sight of him, and her laughter still rang in his ears. That was when he decided, professionalism be damned, it was well worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little embarrassed to admit just how much I was grinning when I wrote this. I'm trying not to move their relationship too fast, so think of this as them becoming friends first. Also, hope you appreciated the game refs!


	5. Developments

Connor put his car in park, raising an eyebrow when North slammed the door shut on getting out. "Slam it a little louder, Kelly, I don't think the people five miles away heard that." She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Shut it, Anderson. You should be happy- we're arresting another one, thanks to your girl."

Connor sighed in frustration- North had started calling Kara his "girl" when referring to her. "For the tenth thousandth time, Kelly, stop calling her that. She's  _married_ , for God's sake."

"Yeah, to a grade-A asshole," North shot back. "Now, do you wanna kick down Mr. Mitchell's door or should I? You did it last time."

He shrugged. "If you can handle it," Connor replied, smirking. "Bet you I'll have to do it."

"Oh, you're on," North replied, grinning as they strode up to Douglas Mitchell's house. "If I manage to knock down that door, you owe me ten bucks."

"Deal."

* * *

North collapsed back into her office chair. "Well,  _that_  was a bust. And not the good kind. Mitchell was just an idiot junkie. He has no personal connection to Mr. Williams whatsoever, other than buying from him a couple times."

Connor gave a halfhearted shrug. "Not the worst idiot junkie I've seen. Back when I was an officer, I once picked up a  _really_  high meth head for disorderly conduct, and he was probably the  _most_  annoying person I've ever had to listen to. I don't remember everything that happened, but I'm  _never_  gonna forget that first name.  _Ralph_." He made a disgusted noise. "Not only would he not stop talking, the idiot kept referring to himself in the third person. 'Ralph doesn't like this, Ralph wants that.' It was  _horrible_. Believe me, I did my best to tune it out, but it was still the worst 30-minute car ride of my life."

North chuckled. "Shit, that's nothing. One time I had to go over to a suspect's house to interview him, and he answered the door  _in the nude_. The  _entire time_  I was there, he never even put a towel on! God, it was so awkward."

Connor opened his mouth to say something but was distracted by the ding of his cell phone. As he reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone, North drawled, " _Another_  one? I  _so_  do not want to interrogate another cokehead today."

He shook his head while he answered the message. "No, it's personal. It's not her."

That was only half-true. While it was a personal text message, he was still talking to Kara.

_Did you have any luck with Kayes or Graham or Mitchell?  
_

_No, not really. Mitchell knew nothing, and Kayes refused to say shit. Graham is still hedging._

_Hopefully,_ _Kayes_ _doesn't tip Todd off_ , came her reply. _I can't have him sniffing around. He'll suspect me sooner or later._

_If that happens, you call me first. Got it?_

_Got it._

While he was texting back and forth with Kara, he still conversed casually with North, sharing horror stories from their days as officers. But when her final message came through, North commented on it.

"You know, especially since last Saturday, you've been chitchatting electronically way more than you ever have. And you told me yourself that morning you had a late night. I can't help but wonder."

He gave her a flat look. "Kelly, whatever it is you're thinking, you should stop thinking it."

She smiled, a little too innocently. "I didn't say I was thinking anything. All I  _am_  saying is that your behavior is that of a man who just met someone. It's very suspicious, Anderson."

Connor sighed in resignation. "I swear I didn't meet anybody. Not in the way you're thinking. I've just...made a friend or two, that's all."

Kelly shrugged, did her best to look indifferent. "Okay. Fine. Whatever you say,  _Detective_." As she spoke that last word, North gave him a cheeky grin, and he rolled his eyes. They continued their conversation as if nothing had happened. Even so, Connor knew his partner was right.

For the last week, not only had Kara given him tips and information, but they had made friendly conversation as well. He wasn't sure why; other than the fact that they had enjoyed each other's company that night at the bar. Todd got back from his so-called "business trip" on Monday morning, and since then more and more faces had been pouring in. Kara tried to limit it to his regulars, but despite her efforts, mainly got random junkies caught in the fray. Either way, it was still good intel- if only so he could hand out enough possession charges to discourage at least some of the general populace of users from buying drugs from Todd Williams again. He knew in the long run that it probably wouldn't work on all of them, but it  _might_  hurt Williams' business enough for him to make a mistake. Criminals always made mistakes under pressure.

So far, they'd identified three of Todd's regulars- Gary Kayes, Daniel Lambert, and Michael Graham. Of the three, Kayes was their most recent arrest, and he had refused to say anything, quietly accepted the charges, and left. Lambert was high as a kite when they arrived at his house and pulled a gun on Kelly. Connor had to shoot him to keep him from hurting her. Graham was still in conference with his lawyer over a deal.

Then came the shouting. "Anderson! You and Kelly; my office, now." The command filled Connor with apprehension.

The last time he and Kelly had been told to enter Captain Fowler's office, they had received a case that was turning out to be a particularly tough nut to crack. He shared a look with North, but it wasn't one of curiosity like last time. This time, he smirked at her. "Alright, what'd you do?"

"What did I do?" she shot back. "More like, what did Detective Anderson, who can't put down the phone,  _ever_ , because he has a new friend he doesn't want to tell me about, do?"

He rolled his eyes. "That's not gonna work, you know. I'm never gonna tell you before I want to. It's my business, not yours."

* * *

"What do you mean, ' _We're back on homicide_ '? My partner and I are working very hard-"

Captain Fowler held up a hand to silence him. "Anderson, I understand that. But we've made progress. We know he's dealing; all we need is more proof for an arrest warrant. It's become a smaller case, Detective. If there's any new developments with our informant, you can let us know. If something comes up and we need extra hands, we'll include you. And I'll keep you both informed. You have my word. But for now, I need you to get back to homicide. Go visit the Lieutenant; he has all the recent files."

"Don't you want us to work on a particular one?"

Captain Fowler wrung his hands in frustration. "I don't care, pick one. And you should consider yourself lucky- if you and Kelly weren't my best pair of detectives, I'd arrange for someone else to talk to the informant. And giving you information? Forget it."

* * *

Hank slapped several thick folders onto a metal table. "Here, these are the cases all the other homicide detectives haven't grabbed. Take your pick. Two shootings, a poisoning, possible suicide, and three cases of what look like robberies gone wrong."

"Which one is the possible suicide?" Connor asked, eyeing the folders.

"This one," his father answered, grabbing a folder from the center of a stack and opening it. "James Peterson, 37. Born February 1st, 1981. Owned a bar called Jimmy's Bar, but only bought it very recently. Before that, he worked at a place called the Eden Club and Bar. I've heard of that place. It's all about flashing lights, annoying music, all that crap," Hank drawled, holding out the folder for Connor to take.

However, he didn't grab it immediately. His mind was working overtime- if they interviewed his ex-boss at the Eden Club, chances are he'd run into Kara- it was Friday, after all. He needed to tell her he was off the case, but that she could still talk to him. Of course, he could tell her over the phone, but...for whatever reason, he wanted to see her.

"Connor? Shit, Connor. You there? You look like you've seen a ghost, son."

"Huh?" he said stupidly, breaking out of his thoughts. "Oh. Sorry, Dad. I'm fine. Come on, Kelly, let's review this thing and go visit the crime scene."

North nodded and followed him as he started to walk out, but unbeknownst to Connor, turned and mouthed to Hank, "I'll talk to him." Hank nodded.

Once Connor and North were in the hallway, out of the earshot of the Lieutenant, North spoke up. "So...about what happened in there-"

"-Nothing happened," Connor snapped. "I just zoned out for a minute."

North sighed in frustration. "I  _know_  big-shot, know-it-all Detective Connor Anderson. And he doesn't  _zone out_ , or _get defensive_ ," she said, giving him a pointed look. "And, hell, he  _definitely_  doesn't use his phone for personal texts during work hours! Jeez, Anderson. You can't put your phone down for longer than five minutes these last several days. What are you, a teenage girl all of a sudden? Either you've switched bodies with a scary smart one, or something happened recently." She paused, sighing. "I was teasing earlier, but you really  _have_  been acting weird since last Saturday. I need to know, Connor. What happened after work on Friday?"

He huffed, rolled his eyes in frustration. She had no right to...who did she think she was…  
"Nothing  _happened_  on Friday, North! God, Kelly, can't you just leave me alone for once? I'm fine!" Turning, he let out a frustrated grunt and stalked down the hallway.

"Yeesh," North said once he was out of earshot. " _Someone_  woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." She waited to follow him but regretted that the moment she caught sight of his desk.

It was empty.

Which meant he had left.

* * *

The first thing Connor did after he made it outside was call Kara. The dial tone rang several times before she answered.

" _Connor,"_  she exclaimed before he could even say a greeting. That told him she was alone. "I need to talk to you."

He nodded slowly. He'd planned to tell her to meet him somewhere but decided to let her know now anyway. Seeing her would have to wait, he realized. "I need to tell you something, too. Kara...I'm off the case. Captain Fowler put me back on homicide. But don't worry," he put in before she could protest. "Other detectives are working on gathering evidence, and you can still talk to me. My partner and I just aren't in charge of it anymore."

" _Is that my fault?"_

His eyebrows raised. She sounded upset. "No, no. It's just...not a high priority case anymore, and I'm a homicide detective. If it wasn't ever a high priority, I'd have never even been assigned to it."

He heard her sigh on the other end.  _"I still feel like I did something wrong. Like I didn't get the right evidence, or-"_

"Kara,  _listen to me_ ," he said firmly. "You did what you could. You had to be careful; everyone understands that. I understand that. There are just some things I can't control. Though I wish I could," he said with a chuckle.

Kara let out a slight laugh, and Connor smiled. "What was it you wanted to tell me?" he asked her.

She sighed again. _"Well, that's just it. I can't really tell you over the phone. Well, I could, but...it'd be easier if I was there with you. In person. There are things I could show you that would...make it easier to explain."_

As she spoke her voice dropped to a whisper, prompting Connor to lower his voice too. "Okay," he murmured. "Where and when do you want to meet?"

" _You'd have to come here,"_  she whispered back.  _"Todd only lets me use the car when I'm with him. And he takes it to work. When he's not working, he's at home. So you'd have to come to the house during the day when he's working."_

He nodded. "When is he at work?"

" _Monday to Friday from 8 to 5. Can you make it?"_

He thought for a moment. There was no way in  _hell_  Captain Fowler would agree to him visiting the house of a suspect to speak with his  _wife_ , of all people, during his work hours. No matter how important the thing she wanted to tell him was.  
It looked like he was going to have to do something he'd never have approved of in the past- and still didn't, not really- although it was something North might think was okay.

"Yeah. If I call in sick."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sing-song* Connor, you're breaking the rules, man. Ahem. Also, in case you're wondering, I used the names of background-ish characters in D:BH for some of the suspects and will continue to do so. And Daniel Lambert is supposed to be that android from the Hostage chapter. (Ben Lambert is the name of his voice actor, yes I looked it up; don't judge me.) Hope you enjoyed. Please leave a comment, feedback is my best friend.


	6. Truths And Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of an interlude.Simply put, the conversation between Connor and Kara at her house. It was originally gonna have more plot than that but it wound up being very long.

Connor tightened his grip on the steering wheel in apprehension. Even with the driver side window down and the radio blasting rock music, he couldn't ignore the pounding feeling in his ears. He'd never broken the rules like this before. It was driving him crazy- why was he risking so much just for one case?

And then the image of the panicked look in Kara's eyes from the night she first met him resurfaced in his mind, and although he couldn't quite put it into words, everything suddenly made sense. He had to help her. He just  _had_  to, even if it meant breaking a rule.

He rolled the window up. Not a minute later, when he was parked in front of an agonizingly slow red light, his cell phone rang.

He hoped it was Kara- provided she wasn't bearing bad news- and expected it to be his father checking on him. So when the caller ID showed North's name on the screen, naturally Connor couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

_North? What could she want? I already apologized for yelling at her, and it can't be about Peterson; to her and everybody else, I'm sick. Oh, well._

Despite the nagging feeling in his brain, he answered the phone. "Anderson."

A chuckle.  _"You know, for somebody who's_ _supposed to have_ _food poisoning, you don't sound very ill."_  She paused, cleared her throat.  _"You really shouldn't be on your phone while driving,_ _by the way_ _; it's not safe. Oh, right, I forgot; you're_ _like_ _a teenager now. You don't care about that."_

He sighed, tried to keep his voice as neutral as possible. "Kelly, if this is some elaborate practical joke-"

" _-Trust me, big-shot, it isn't. I see you. Well, I can't_ see _see you, but I have your car's GPS on my computer screen. What are you doing driving? If you have food poisoning, you shouldn't be in any condition to drive. Unless, of course, you're not sick at all."_

"Is there  _no_  limit to what you'll poke your nose in, Kelly?"

" _Nope."_  Connor didn't have to see her face to know that she was grinning.  _"So, how does it feel? Playing hooky?"_

He groaned. "Kelly, I gotta go."

She chuckled.  _"Of course you do. Listen, I tracked you to a street leaving the heart of Detroit. That's as far as I'll look- for now. You have three strikes. This happens again, I'll leave you be and mind my own business. But if it happens another time after that, well...you can bet your ass I'll do better digging than the FBI to find out what the hell you're up to._ _I will find out what's going on with you, Anderson, one way or another._ _"_

Before he could reply, North said,  _"See you tomorrow, partner,"_  and hung up.

Connor sighed in frustration as he put away his phone, willed himself to focus on the road and what was ahead. He'd deal with North later. All that mattered right now was Kara.

* * *

 Straightening his tie, Connor took a deep breath as he walked up the three wooden steps to Kara's front door, not missing how the boards creaked and sagged under his weight. He raised an eyebrow at the potted plants by the door, all of them either dead or dying, the leaves dull and withered. Wind brought a new chill to the air, rattling the chimes hanging from the rafters. It was November, so it had been chilly for a while, but the gust had a particular bite to it that made Connor shiver involuntarily. He knocked sharply on the door and waited.

A soft thump echoed from inside, as if someone had dropped a book. He heard the sound of shoes on wood, followed by the clicking of locks. The door opened just a crack, and one of Kara's eyes peered out at him. She froze for a moment, as though she was making sure it was him, then the door opened wide.

Connor gave her an easy smile. "Hi, Kara."

"Hey, Connor," she replied. The smile she gave in return was thin and nervous, but it was still a smile. "Come in, I guess," Kara said, chuckling nervously. She stood aside, allowing him to enter. Once he'd crossed the threshold, the door shut behind him with a soft click. "Thanks for not ringing, by the way," she murmured, turning and walking past him. She looked over her shoulder at him and sighed. "Alice has the flu. She's asleep in her room. Come on, let's go in the dining room."

He nodded, followed her through the house. His eyes fell on the frayed couch, water damage on the walls, the yellowed glass panes. Whatever Todd was doing with his drug money definitely wasn't in the home improvement department. "I know it's a little messy," she said as she pulled out a chair for him to sit. "It's just, Alice was up half the night, so..." she shrugged as she sat down across from him at the small dining room table.

"Therefore, so were you," he finished for her, understanding the implication. "It's fine. I hope she feels better soon."

"Yeah, me too," she murmured, sighing. "Thanks." She paused, stifling a yawn. "Can I get you anything? Todd would notice if food was missing, but I could get you some water if you want it."

He shook his head, gave her a small smile. "I'm alright. Now, um..." he paused, bit his lip. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

Kara hung her head. "I think ' _show_  you' would be the better term."

Her words were full of emotion. He couldn't tell if it was anger or sadness. He had a feeling it was a combination of the two. Then she did something he hadn't anticipated.

She started unbuttoning her blouse.

Connor opened his mouth to say something, anything, to ask her just  _what_  she was doing, when she moved the fabric away from her left shoulder.

When his eyes landed on the bruises, blooming navy blue, black, purple, and reddish against the skin of her collarbone like horrible flowers, it all made sense.

Connor knew he should have expected this- everything in her hospital record had all but screamed "abusive husband". But to see it up close, to be mere inches away from firsthand evidence of that abuse on his friend- there was no point denying he cared about her as something more than just a witness- was enough to make him draw in a horrified breath. "Oh, Kara..."

A tear rolled down her cheek.

She was crying. Really, truly, honest-to-God  _crying_. Tears trickled in rivulets down her face, leaving pale streaks in her skin. She drew in a shaking breath, sobbed. Connor, numb with horror and paralyzed by the sudden pain clawing in his chest, did the only thing he could think of.

He leaned forward and took her hand.

She clung to his touch like a lifeline, sobbing even harder. She gripped his hand with both of her own, squeezing the blood out of his fingertips. And yet, he didn't mind one bit.

On instinct, he moved his free hand forward, pushing away the hair that had fallen in front of her face. She went still for a moment, her blue eyes locked firmly on his own. A whimper escaped her lips, coupled with a jagged inhale.

His next words came out in a tone he hadn't used in a long while. A soothing murmur he'd employed often to calm hysterical witnesses and family members of victims. This time, however, there wasn't even a trace of acting involved. Every note of sincerity in his voice, every comforting syllable that passed his lips, was all real. He meant every bit of it.

"Kara...it's okay. It's going to be okay."

She only sobbed more. Connor sighed, sure his eyes were betraying every bit of the sympathy he felt for her. Each new tear that ran down her skin, every sob and whimper that escaped her lips...it felt as if something was tearing at his heart.

Slowly, uncertainly, as if he was afraid of scaring her, he moved his hand away from her hair. He rested his palm on her back, silently urging her to come closer to him.

She obliged, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder. Connor felt her tears falling onto his suit jacket, but didn't care. "Shh...you're alright. You're gonna be alright."

"Don't go," she whimpered. "Please stay."

He tilted his head down ever so slightly, risked pressing a ghost of a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm here. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, Kara."

* * *

 When things had calmed down a bit, Connor went into the kitchen and filled a glass with water from the tap. He set it down in front of Kara, who nodded her thanks.

They spent the next few minutes in comfortable silence while Kara dried her eyes and drank the water Connor had given her.

It was only after she drained the glass that Kara realized she'd forgotten to redo the top buttons on her blouse. It was enough to make her blush slightly. When she moved her hands to close the top of her shirt, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Not yet," came his low voice. "You need to put some ice on that."

Kara let out a frustrated sigh. She hadn't realized he was the type that felt the need to take care of everyone. "I'm fine."

He shook his head at her. "No, Kara, you're  _not_  fine. It looks bad. And since I'm fairly sure I won't be able to convince you to see a medical professional," She smiled slightly at that, "you need to ice those bruises. Just...tell me if you have an ice pack, please."

One look at Connor's face told Kara she wasn't going to be able to dissuade him. So, with a resigned sigh, she muttered, "There's one in the freezer."

"Thank you."

Kara's eyes dropped to the table, and she held her head with one hand for a moment- an attempt to combat the headache that was starting to surface. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to process everything that had happened. Connor had stayed with her like she'd asked, hadn't pulled away even when she cried all over him. (She still wasn't sure why she'd lost it the way she had.) Connor was...kind.

She hadn't known too many kind men in her life. Her father she  _never_  knew. She wished she'd never known her grandfather. Strange men always whistled and hollered when she passed them alone, and she noticed, no matter how hard she worked at drowning it all out. And Todd? Todd was the worst of all of them.

Luther had been the exception. He was strong, deep-voiced, and quiet, but showed himself to be a goodhearted person more than once.

And now there was Connor, a detective who'd promised to help her- her and Alice, who was the only person on the earth Kara was certain she loved.

She heard Connor moving around in the kitchen, heard the click of the freezer door opening and closing. She  _felt_  rather than heard him walk back over to the dining table. When he stopped moving, she blinked open her eyes and glanced up at him.

In his left hand was the ice pack from the kitchen freezer, the back of a chair in his right. He pulled the chair out from beneath the table, sat back down across from her.

He was no closer than he'd been before, but something about his presence made her breath hitch.

Suddenly his eyes flit down to the tabletop, and his expression changed to one of concern. Kara glanced down too, unsure why he was worried, until she caught sight of her hands.

She hadn't even realized how badly they were shaking. Kara laced her fingers together, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

Connor said nothing, only held out the ice. His hand lingered over her bruised skin for a moment, then he pulled back slightly. "May I-?"

"Yes."

The shock of cold from the ice numbed the pain of her injuries, but that simple question was what really made her feel better. He'd asked for permission before touching her.

She couldn't remember the last time anyone had done that.

* * *

 After Connor was sure Kara's injuries were looking better, he put the ice pack away. As he was making his way back over to her, he froze. The sound that he- and Kara, judging by her expression- had picked up on was unmistakable.

It was the sound of bare feet on a wooden floor.

"Mom?" a small voice called out. Kara immediately got to her feet. "I'm in here, Alice."

A little girl tottered into the kitchen.

Her dark hair was long and tangled, hanging in messy waves past her shoulders almost down to her waist. Her tiny frame was almost swallowed up by her oversized pajamas. A stuffed fox was cradled in the crook of her arm.

She coughed. "Can I have something to eat?"

Kara nodded. "Of course, sweetie. Come sit down. I'll make you some soup. Alice nodded back, sniffled, then stumbled over to the dining chair.

Only then did she notice Connor, standing with his back to the partition wall. "Who're you?" she asked, glancing up at him.

He flashed an easy smile. "I'm Connor," he murmured. "You must be Alice. Your mom told me all about you."

"She did?" Alice asked, glancing briefly at her mother. Connor nodded.

"Are you her friend or something?"

He nodded again. "Yes. I met your mom a couple weeks ago. One of the first things she told me about was you," he said, still smiling at her. "I know she loves you very much."

Alice finally smiled back.

* * *

 Kara paused behind the doorway, Connor standing in front of her on the porch. "And...you're sure you'll be okay?" he asked her. When she nodded, he felt that dull ache again. When she was here, he couldn't protect her.

Then she smiled. "I'll see you soon. I hope."

"Don't worry, you will," he replied, chuckling. "I'll figure something out. And...if you need me, for whatever reason,  _please_  let me know. I always have my phone on me, so I'll see any messages you leave."

She nodded, blinked gratefully at him. "Okay. Thank you, Connor. For everything." He smiled in a silent acknowledgment of her words, and Kara returned it.

"I think Alice likes you," she murmured. "She asked me if you were gonna come visit again soon."

"Really?" he said, tilting his head in interest. "I'm not that great with kids."

Kara shrugged. "You did well enough with her." She paused, sighing. "I'd better go make sure she's tucked in. She needs her sleep."

Connor nodded in understanding. "I'll talk to you later, okay? Go take care of your daughter."

After the door had closed behind him and Connor was back inside his car, he thought for a moment on everything that he'd said to Kara. It had been strange admitting to her that he'd already suspected she was being abused, but her gratitude at his honesty was worth any awkward explanation. And Alice...he'd finally met the little girl that, based on his conversations with her both here and at the Eden Club, seemed to be Kara's only source of real happiness. He knew Kara loved her daughter to pieces before he met her- why else would she risk everything by turning on her husband?

He made a mental note to thank Alice for that one day. If it wasn't for her daughter, Kara might never have found the strength she needed to assist the police in going after Todd. And meeting Alice gave Connor a realization- Kara wasn't just the bravest woman he'd ever met, but probably the kindest as well.

Then his phone chirped, bringing him out of his thoughts. He frowned when he saw it was from North, confused.

When he read the message, that confusion became something close to panic.

_You are SO busted, Anderson. What are you doing at the Williams' house?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like someone forgot to mind their own business a little earlier than planned...


	7. Keeping Secrets

Connor took a deep breath, willed himself to stay calm. He could talk his way out of this. All he had to do was say the right thing to get North to leave him alone. He thought for a moment, then typed a quick reply.

_Kara wanted to talk to me._

He started the car, began the drive back to his apartment building. It took five minutes before North responded to his message.

_What the hell, Anderson? You went to the suspect's house to talk to his wife? That was incredibly stupid, Connor. What did you even talk about, anyway?_

Connor ignored the message, both because he wasn't sure how to respond, and because he didn't want to cause a traffic accident by texting while driving. North could wait until he got back home.  
She must have taken the hint, because she didn't message him again. When he was pulling into the parking lot, his phone started ringing. He grimaced- his partner had always possessed an impeccable sense of timing. Realizing he couldn't avoid North any longer, Connor let out a resigned sigh, put the car in park, then answered her call as he was getting out of the car.

"Yeah?"

He could hear her annoyed huff on the other end as he made his way into the building.  _"You sound pretty calm for somebody who just got busted. Give me_ one _good reason I shouldn't go to Captain Fowler right now and tell him about your little_ visit _to Mrs. Williams."_

"That's easy, Kelly," he replied, just as he strode into the elevator, earning him some odd looks from the two other people in the elevator with him. "Because in order for your claim to be substantiated, you'd have to tell him you were tracking my GPS. And I'm pretty sure surveilling your partner is frowned upon, especially when hacking is involved." Despite the weight of the situation, Connor had to grin- he knew he had North beaten.

Then he caught sight of his neighbor, a young woman with blue hair, staring into the basket she was holding. He rolled his eyes. "One second, Kelly." Then he covered the receiver with his hand and turned to the girl. "Don't pretend you're not listening, Traci, your laundry is not  _that_  interesting." Her face turned pink, and the blond man standing next to her snickered. "Shut up, Simon," she hissed.

North let out a snort.  _"Were you annoying your neighbor again?"_

Connor sighed. "Doesn't matter. But as I was saying, that's the one good reason- to get me in trouble, you'd have to admit you spied on me; then we'd  _both_  be screwed."

_Besides that,"_  she shot back, but Connor could tell that some of the bravado that was in her voice before had gone.  _"I need to know, Anderson. We're partners. And partners don't keep secrets from each other- especially not when they involve the wives of suspects. What the hell did you_ do _?"_

He sighed. "I didn't  _do_  anything. I just talked to her. She wanted to talk, so I agreed to meet her at her house. That's it."

" _About what?"_

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Kelly. All I can say is that… there was something you and I were right about. My conversation with Kara proved it. But I don't think she'd appreciate it if I told you. It should come from her, not me."

Connor had made it to his apartment door by the time he made that statement. Just as he was crossing the threshold, Sumo looked up from his spot on the couch and barked. The oversized Saint Bernard jumped down and bounded over to him enthusiastically, wagging his tail.

North must have heard the dog, because she chuckled.  _"I think that's your cue. Walk that dog for me, Anderson. But we're gonna talk more about this later. You know that, right?"_

"Yeah," he said, resigned. "You're relentless. See you later, Kelly. And, uh… I think Sumo says hi."

She laughed again.  _"You're a huge dork, Anderson. No wonder you can't get a date. Bye."_  
Then North hung up, and Connor was left alone with an excited dog and the knowledge that North would probably stop at nothing to find out what he knew about Kara.

* * *

 The next four days were a blur for Connor- ruling Peterson's death a suicide, getting tox reports on poisoning victims, putting up with North's consistent jabs- although he'd been doing that since he met her- and, of course, getting new suspects from Kara. Though the few she'd given him led nowhere. The investigation had "hit a plateau", so to speak- something Connor had always hated. No new leads or viable witnesses. It was the kind of thing that led to a cold case- and he did  _not_  want this to become a cold case. He was afraid that Kara might do something rash, as she was getting desperate. And he was even more afraid of Todd finding out about what Kara was doing. That, and her psycho husband still abused her. If they didn't arrest him soon, well… Kara's situation was a homicide waiting to happen.

The only thing he'd been relieved about over the course of the week was North not confronting him about Kara yet. Maybe she'd caught on to what he was hinting at.

Then her voice broke him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to his desk at the DPD precinct and the case file he was supposed to be reviewing- the poisoning of a Lucy Wandera. She had worked as a nurse in a psychiatric facility, and it was suspected that one of her patients or coworkers had somehow poisoned her with cleaning supplies.

"Anderson! Earth to Detective Anderson. Hello?"

"Right. Uh, sorry. Did you get anything?"

North shrugged. "The tox report. There was bleach in her system. Nothing unexpected. Anything on your end?"

He shook his head. "No, I haven't-" Then his phone chirped, and he reached for it instinctively. North raised an eyebrow. "Nice reflexes, Anderson. You really  _are_  attached to that phone. What, are you having an affair?"

Connor ignored her as he viewed the message- it was from Kara. A photograph, but not the same as the others. Instead of a person being handed coke, it was a man signing a contract. Todd was in the photo, but it was the other man that got Todd's attention. Elijah Kamski.

"We just got a new lead."

North groaned. "Not another junkie."

He shook his head, showed her the picture. "No, it's not an arrest we'll be making. Just asking a man some questions about the business he's doing with Todd."

* * *

 Connor focused on the pacing man, did his best to keep his voice calm. "You have to understand, Mr. Kamski, you're not in any trouble. W just need to know what the contract was about."

Kamski sighed. "It was an investment! Mr. Williams was investing in my company. I met him and his wife at their house to sign the contract. That's all."

Connor nodded in understanding, and Kamski questioned, "What is this about, Detectives? Has there been some kind of trouble? Did Mr. Williams do something? I need to know if this will hurt me or my business."

He shook his head. "Nothing's going to happen to your business, Mr. Kamski. We have reason to believe Mr. Williams intends to use your company to launder cash."

"Money laundering?" he echoed, shocked. "What kind of crime is he mixed up in? How much money?"

"We don't know for certain how much money Mr. Williams plans to launder. But I promise you, you won't be implicated. It's obvious you didn't know what was going on."  
Kamski sighed in relief. "Well, that makes me feel better. Even so… I don't want a criminal involved in my business. Is there anything I can do to help you catch him? I can't break the agreement, it's in writing."

"Well, if we arrest him soon, you won't have to. But if and when he starts depositing cash into your accounts, keep a record of it. That way we can prove he invested. That's about the only thing you can do. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got other leads to follow." Kamski nodded. "Thanks for telling me about this." As they started to walk out of his apartment, Kamski stopped them. "Wait a minute. You two spoke to my girlfriend a couple weeks ago. She told me a couple of detectives came by her apartment. She described you. Said you were asking about Todd Williams."

North shrugged. "Well, if your girlfriend's Chloe Hersh, then yeah, we did. She okay?"

Kamski nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. But, uh… there's something you should know. Hersh is the surname she was born with, but she only started using it after she became an adult. Before that, she used the surname of her foster mother, Rose. Rose Chapman. She and her foster sister changed their last names to match hers when they were nine. The thing is… Chloe hasn't seen her sister since 2007, when they were seventeen. Her sister ran away from home that year. It's probably why she changed her name back once she turned 18. They were very close, and I think losing her sister hurt Chloe. She showed me some old photographs, and…" he paused, sighing. "When I met Mrs. Williams, something about her seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. That is, until Mr. Williams used her first name. I can't know for certain, but I think Mrs. Williams used to be Kara Chapman, Chloe's sister."

* * *

 Connor sat down in his desk chair, staring at the ceiling. He was almost tempted to throw a pencil up there to see if it would stick. Anything to distract him from the burden of what he now knew. Kara had a sister. Someone who could help her. The right thing to do would be to persuade her to try and get help. But how could he tell her that he'd found her sister? It could've been a fluke, anyway. Kara wasn't that uncommon of a name.

He decided to do some digging to make sure. He was a detective, after all, and that was what he was good at. Making sure.

Within an hour, he realized that Elijah Kamski had been right. Kara Williams was born Kara Smith- her birth mother's name was Allison Smith. No father was listed on her birth certificate. When she was five, her mother died in a car crash, and her grandfather was given guardianship of her. However, three years later, he died of a heart attack, and Kara was put into the foster system. When she was nine, Kara Smith became the second of Rose Chapman's foster children, and her name was changed to Kara Chapman. She did have a sister- Chloe. Not only that, but legally she also had a brother- Rose's biological son, Adam. She had a family.

Granted, she'd also run away, so there was no telling how receptive they would be if she reappeared in their lives. Even so, he wanted to try and convince Kara to at least reach out to her sister. Chloe might be able to help her.

Then North found him. "What are you still doing at your desk, Anderson? We're off the clock. Is-" her eyes fell on Connor's computer screen, and she sighed. "So, Chloe really is Kara's sister, huh?"

He nodded. "Yes. I wanted to be sure."

"Why?" North asked, tilting her head. "Does it have anything to do with that conversation you had with her on Monday? Did she mention having an estranged family member?"

"No," he replied. "But… she needs help, Kelly. She won't let me give her the help she needs, but she might be more willing to accept help from someone she trusts. A family member."

North narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, then her expression softened. "She's being abused, isn't she? That's what she talked to you about. You don't have to answer, Anderson; I know I'm right. Her dirtbag of a husband is hitting her, and you want to do something about it." She paused, sighing. "I'd do the same thing, you know. The problem is, I can bet she never asked you to help her in that regard. Am I wrong?"

Connor hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"But you want to help her anyway," North said slowly, raising an eyebrow at him. "Granted, that could just be your moral compass telling you this is the right thing to do- which, it is, don't get me wrong- but I think there's more to it than that. You really care about her, don't you? And I don't mean in the way you're supposed to care about the cases you get. You  _actually_  care about her, the way you would a friend. Maybe even… more than that."

Connor sighed. "Kelly, I don't know what you're getting at, but-"

She rolled her eyes, frustrated. "Look, I know that if I keep making implications you'll find a way to weasel around them the way you always do, so I'll just cut to the chase. Connor, do you have feelings for Mrs. Williams? Are you trying to pursue a relationship with her that goes beyond friendly?"

He shook his head vehemently. "No. Absolutely not. I'll admit that Kara is my friend, but I don't… I'm not in love with her or anything. I just want to help her because she needs help. I care about her, but not in that way."

North tilted her head at him. "Okay." Then she sighed. "You know, for what it's worth… you're a good person, Anderson. You care about people; you want to protect them. You're… well, you're kind. I know you well enough to say that. And, well… if she were to fall for you, I wouldn't blame her one bit. And while I don't know much about her, you must at least think she's a good person, since you decided to go out of your way to help her. Plus, she's very pretty. Probably really sweet. I wouldn't blame you if you ever caught feelings for her, either."

Then she smiled slightly. "Just remember that no matter how mean I can be… I'm your friend too. I care. So, no matter what happens… please tread carefully."

Connor nodded, smiling for real. "I always knew you had a soft side, Kelly."

She mock glared. "Ugh, how dare you?"

He chuckled. "All right, all right. All kidding aside, I'll be careful. I promise."

North grinned. "That's what I like to hear. Come on; let's go home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for my hiatus. Also, I hope you liked the plot twists. Just FYI- I used the last name Smith because my brain was drawing a blank, and I just like the name Allison, so I used it for the name of Kara's mom. I winged it, as it were. Also, I hope you liked me showing North's "soft side", as it were. Leave a comment if you enjoyed!


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